Cops crack mystery behind Akshata murder case : Arrest duo

Cops crack mystery behind Akshata murder case : Arrest duo

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, June 20, 2015: Two youngsters, both cousins and close friends have been arrested in the case of murder of Akshata Devadiga, a student of Byndoor Government College. If the girl was found dead at Ottinene near Byndoor on June 17, the accused were arrested on June 19, Friday night.

Informing this to the media on June 20, Saturday, IGP Amrit Paul informed that the arrested youth are Sunil and Akshay , both 19 years of age and hailing from Yedthare. The IGP informed that the two youth had been to Byndoor ITI on June 17 for admission.

The IGP said Sunil who saw Akshata walking towards home from college on that day followed her. However, when she turned back to question him, Sunil reportedly pulled her shawl around her neck so tight that she almost fainted. Later Sunil lifted her and took to a secluded area reportedly with the intention of sexually assaulting her, the IGP said adding the girl had however died by then.

He also stated that there was no indication of sexual assault in the post-mortem report.

The other arrested youth Akshay is learnt to have tried to mislead the cops stating that the two were somewhere else when the incident took place. The IGP said Akshata did not know the two youth earlier and that after the incident Sunil had a hair cut, met his friends and pretended he was innocent.

If Sunil was arrested near Yojana Nagar, Byndoor, it is not known from where Akshay was arrested.

The IGP stated that the DGP has announced a cash reward of Rs 3 lakhs to the cops led by SP Annamalai for arresting the culprits within two days of the incident.

On the safety apprehensions of college girls, particularly when they walk past lonely areas, the SP said there was a plan to have a school beat police squad to be deployed in such places to ensure students reached home safely. Initially such teams will be deployed in some spots and later throughout the district, he informed.

It has been learnt that the police had questioned as many as 50 persons and had finally managed to arrest the two.